A Rousing Welcome

Welcome back to my beautiful sister who is now bi-lingual and has an international perspective. We are glad to have her around again, and happy that she arrived safely.

Welcome back to the arctic north, my sweet sister!

It Shimmers Like the Nile

Here are some sparkly invitations that I helped make for a local event. I love all things that sparkle (I even have a pinboard on Pinterest dedicated to such delectable delights) so I was excited to find an awesome use for this sparkly cardstock:

(Glitter cardstock from American Crafts.)

Someone's Birthday

Someone around here just turned 16...

Someone around here is an incredible artist...

Someone around here is the best of listeners...

Someone around here is a skilled longboard teacher...

Someone around here is absolutely hilarious...

Someone around here has a heart of gold...

Someone around here is a good sport...

Someone around here is starting her big year in all the right ways!

A Can of Worms

So, for Christmas my rockin' sister-in-law gave Kirk the most excellent of gifts: a coupon book for 12 free desserts throughout the year of his choosing. It really is the gift that gives all year 'round and perfect for Kirk because he loves dessert. Well, if you don't already know, Kirk is known to be a bit of a scalawag. It's just an occupational hazard of having a brilliant mind brimming with imagination.

So, you can imagine that Kirk does not order your everyday desserts when redeeming his coupons. The first up was titled "The Honest Abe Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza," and came complete with diagram. (In case your interest is piqued, it is a pizza-sized peanut butter cookie with the profile of Abraham Lincoln on it in hot fudge sauce.) Behold:

What do you think? Did Alyssa nail it? I don't know...I think it looks more like Colonel Sanders! Poor Lyss, though. I think she's only beginning to realize the can of worms she opened.

A Quick Little Ditty

Here's a card I made at an employee create-and-take...with some tweaks to fit my own style, of course:

(All supplies from Close To My Heart)

It's a fun little thing that I'm saving to give to a special friend. Here's a confession: I always save my best art to give to people I know will understand and appreciate the work that went into the gift. Do you find yourself doing the same thing or are you an equal-friendship-opportunity gift giver?

The Book of Mormon

Here's another recent read of mine:

I read this baby through at least once a year, and I love the examples and lessons I am able to learn from it.

The portion of the book that stood out in my mind this time around is regarding the people near the end of the record who had become so incredibly wicked that they delighted in brutal violence and filling their hearts with hatred. It is a heartbreaking account, and I see parallels to the present day in the senseless acts people are capable of. While it is terribly sad, I still sense an eternal gleam of hope (despite the wickedness) for the people in the book. Although present-day human behavior also makes me sad, I feel that humankind is still full of goodness, even if we have to work a little harder each day than the day before to let that goodness show.

Vets (Not for Pets)

In our neighborhood we have several veterans, and as part of a project with local youth, I was asked to make cards to present along with a thank-you gift to the men and women who served us and our country. This is what I came up with:

(All products except gold metallic ink and baker's twine from Close To My Heart.)

It was a surprise for our vets (because there were no veteran holidays to prompt us), and several people were genuinely grateful for the youths' thoughtful gesture of gratitude. I'm glad I got to be a part of the neighborly kindness. It wasn't my idea, but it was a good one! Has there been anything you've participated in that you weren't sure about at first (because it wasn't your idea) but were so glad you did anyway?